The Three Lights
Ulrika has tasked me to go hunting for mushrooms. We’re in the Kromaga forest, which is smushed between the northern and southern tribes. I’m standing next to a small divot in the land where the Sahton River splits into two. The divide I’m near flows southeast. It feeds into the White River south of Nebulas. The fork here is known to have plentiful sources of herbs, edible flowers, and mushrooms for cooking. She wants me to pick up any yellow-colored mushrooms. According to her words, these mushrooms are savory when mixed with beef, venison, or fish.
“I should’ve asked her how much,” I say, looking downstream. “Follow the river,” I say, quoting Ulrika’s instructions.
I walk half a mile down the river gathering mushrooms until my sackcloth is halfway full. I’m not sure what kind of look or size she’s going for, so I’m hoping the big ones will be enough for the dish she wants to make.
As I’m hiking back, I spot Ulrika through the trees to my right, riding my sword as if it were a floating bench. She has her back facing me with her head looking left in the direction of travel. Once my sword reaches the fork of the river, she jumps off and grabs it by the handle.
“Thank you,” she says, then lightly swings it around. “I wonder if I’m worthy to wield his mighty sword.” When she says the word, mighty, she slows it down and emphasizes it in volume. I stand quietly while she playfully swings my sword around. She twirls but stops midway when she notices I’m here. “Oh!” She gasps before laughing. “You’re sneaky,” she says, pointing her finger at me several times. “How was the search?”
“Plentiful, I hope.” I show her the mushrooms. She takes the sackcloth, grabs two of the biggest mushrooms, then dumps the rest on the ground after putting the two back into the sackcloth. “I’m not feeding a family of four,” she says with a light-hearted laugh. “These’ll do.” The family remark sounds like a jab at what is to come in our future. Two extra mouths to feed means we’ll have to gather more food. I might have to step up and become the gatherer or, worse, become the cooker.
“How was your search?” I say. “Could this place be our home?”
“I don’t know,” she says. She sighs and shakes her head while smiling. “It’s not Thaa Alora, y’know?” She says softly. “Do you know what tribes roam around here?”
“The Fireaeayhs, mostly.” She raises one brow and tilts her head to the left. The look of confusion nearly makes me laugh.
“Who are those?” She lightly chuckles, stepping closer to me. “They sound... scary.” Her eyes dart left and right before she gazes at the forest behind her. “Wait a minute. Those are the red eyes and white hair people, right?”
“Mhmm,” I nod. “Like Vahloin.”
“Gods,” she shivers in a giggle. “His eyes scare me.”
“Scare?” I scoff when I think about my first time seeing red eyes. “To my knowledge, that Kromagian tribe is the only people in the world who have red eyes and pure white hair.”
“Why do you think that is?” She says as she hands me my sword.
I shrug my shoulders after manually sheathing my sword in the scabbard on my hip. The northern tribes are a bit of a mystery to me. They rarely cross down into the South to mingle with us. It’s like they live in their own little country that’s separated by the forest. Whatever their case may be, I intend to explore the north before Kromagia is in deep shit in the war.
We leave the Kromaga forest on horseback and travel several hours back home. It’s late in the night when we make it. With the help of Thyrna, Ulrika begins cooking dinner. Instead of sitting at the table and watching them prepare the food, I insist that they make me help with whatever.
“Getting bored of waiting for your food, hmm?” Thyrna says, nearly laughing. Ulrika glances at me with the side of her eye with a smile as she cuts vegetables.
“I wanna learn how to cook,” I say.
“You already know how to cook,” she says, rolling her eyes halfway around. Ulrika quietly chuckles with her lips curled in her mouth.
“I want to cook like her,” I say as I rest my chest over Ulrika’s right shoulder as she puts the cut vegetables in a searing pan with oil in it.
“Like me?” Ulrika says, pitching her voice.
“Yes,” I answer gently, hugging her lower stomach from behind. “Like... you.”
“Okay,” she chuckles. “This is easy to remember.” She calls this dish “Fried Vegetable Mix.” It’s a simple dish that any child can do. I flip and stir to reach the level of brownness Ulrika wants them.
“Smells wonderful,” Thyrna says, giving me a pat on the back before taking her seat at the head of the table. “Ulrika...”
“Yes?” Ulrika says softly.
“You’ve gotten bigger.”
“Bigger...?”
“Yeah!” She flexes both of her arms and crosses them across her chest to make them look larger. Ulrika mimics the posture. She takes it a step further when she puts her hands to the sky. Her fingers twirl into a fist. All of the muscles in her arms flex, showing nearly every muscular pattern.
“Gods, I am?”
“How big are you going for?”
“I’m not trying to get... bigger. Kaio’s training is a major workout.”
“Gods, Kai,” she says, shaking her head with hers closed. “Are you trying to make your wife look like you?”
“No?” I say accidentally pitching my voice. “I don’t think she would want that.”
“People do mistake me as a man until they hear me talk or closely examine my face,” Ulrika says.
“Does that get bothersome?” Thyrna says.
I fill their plates and mine with food while Ulrika talks to Thyrna. I go in and out of listening to their conversation because the delicious food keeps stealing my attention every time I take a bite. The pepper, salt, and oil are mixed perfectly with a nice crunch inside the vegetables. After I finish my food, I focus back on their conversation.
“My brothers kept my secret from the commander about me being a woman,” Ulrika says with the left side of her mouth full of food.
“Seriously?” Thyrna says, covering her mouth with the back of her hand as she chews. “Did they ever find out?”
“After I retired,” she says after swallowing. “I thought they would reprimand me.”
“What did they do instead?”
“They,” she says, then pauses to chuckle. “Made sure their knights were men.”
“That’s hilarious!”
I’m a bit shocked, but who am I to judge the Ambaraites? I know they treated her with respect. No one that I know or she has mentioned has any sort of regret working with her.
“Anyways.” She stands up and collects our bowls to place at the center of the table. “Thyrna, could you...” Her fingers wave in and out as her eyes gaze at the dishes.
“Say no more,” Thyrna says, slouching in her chair with a gigantic grin on her face. “I’ll clean this up.”
“I appreciate it,” she nods before setting her eyes on me. “I’m gonna take a hot bath.”
As I’m watching Ulrika go upstairs, it dawns on me that she already took one before we made dinner. She doesn’t smell. Is there something going on? Several ideas race through my mind. If something is going on, I’m positive she’ll tell me. Unless it’s something deeper than I realize.
“Kai,” Thynra whispers.
“Hmm?” I say. I turn my head slightly in her direction to show I’m listening.
“I’m gonna head out for a bit.” Before I can ask why, she tells me she’s thirsty for beer. “Have fun, you two,” she says slowly, yet pitches her voice in different tones as if she’s singing. “Keep the noise down if you can.” She wobbles her ears and puts her finger over her mouth.
“Wait? Was that what she meant?”
Thyrna’s quiet laughter doesn’t give me a straight answer. She heads out while I head up the steps. The bathroom door is closed, and I don’t see any light flickering underneath the door. I call for Ulrika’s name and knock on the door to see if she’s in there. She doesn’t answer, so I say her name before cracking the door open. There’s an unnatural amount of darkness beyond the doorframe. The light from downstairs isn’t illuminating the floor.
“Ulrika?” I say. “Are you in there?” My voice echoes as if I’m speaking inside a long tunnel. Something is extremely off, and it is putting my anxiety on high alert. I step back and open my hand to call for my sword, but it doesn’t come. My connection to it is gone. “Thyrna!” When I take a glance at the stairwell and look back at the door, I’m staring at three gigantic silhouettes with white glowing eyes. I fall on my ass, trying to run away backward.
“No,” a woman with a high-pitched child-like voice says many times. “We didn’t mean to scare you!”
“I told you two this would happen if we came to him like this,” a second woman with a deeper voice says. “Syren acted the same way.”
“Oh! You’re right! She did!” A third woman says.
I keep my mouth shut and stay still as they bicker between themselves about reasons why they should approach mortals through normal means like greeting, invitations, or subtle divine introductions.
“Sisters, that’s enough!” The woman with a deep voice says. “Let us get back to focus.” The two eyes on the right rapidly shrink down to my level. They approach me, getting about a foot from my face. I squint and cross my arms over my chest for protection. “Kaioson, I’m not going to hurt you.” Her words don’t convince me. For all I know, these might be demons working for Zadione. “Guys... I need help.”
“Let me try,” the woman with a higher voice says. The last set of eyes shrinks in size. Her whole figure appears like fire being ignited in a flash. She looks human but with an unusual amount of freckles all over her arms and face. “Hiya, Kaioson! Glad to meet you, sir!” She sticks her hand out for me to shake. “My name is Stratus. We’re angels known as the Three Lights.”
“The Three Lights?” I say.
“Have you never heard of us?” I shake my head, no. “It’s okay,” she says, laughing it off like it’s not a big deal. “Check the city’s library. I’m sure you’ll find books about us.”
“Really?”
“Yup!”
“So, you are all like Coreatha?”
“She was,” the third woman says, who’s still a gigantic pair of floating eyes. “But now she’s like you because she saved your wife.”
“Ulrika,” I say quietly. “Gods! Where is she?”
“Don’t worry,” Starus says, looking up at nothing. “She’s getting ready to bathe. I will give it back to you after we talk.”
“What do you want?”
“You’ve given up fighting against Zadione,” the third says after revealing herself. The other woman stands beside her. She is taller than the rest of them. Her hair is tightly pulled behind her head into an arching ponytail. “You do realize where this war will head if people like you stop fighting,” she continues.
“Why am I getting the attention from the gods? I don’t want to do this anymore!” I wave them off. “Go bother someone who has nothing to lose.”
“Everyone has something to lose if Zadione wins!”
“Sinara,” Stratus says. “Don’t yell at him.”
“Sorry, sis.” She sighs and rubs her eyes to collect herself. “Forgive me, Kaioson. Ever since Coretha contacted you to protect Syren’s daughter, we’ve—”
“Been your biggest followers,” the other woman I don’t know says out of the blue.
“Followers?” I say after I get to my feet. “What do you mean by that?”
“Anasha,” Stratus loudly whispers. “Don’t embarrass us in front of him!”
“What? It’s true! We adore him.”
“Oh, great father,” Sinara mumbles with her face in her hand.
I don’t know if I should be humbled by the idea of having admirers from the high heavens or be bothered by the fact that they watch me too much.
“Excuse me,” I say. They stop talking and give me their full undivided attention. “Look, take me out of whatever I’m in. I—”
“No. You’re staying here,” Sinara says.
“Until we said our peace,” Stratus quickly says after Sinara.
“Kaioson,” Anasha says, taking a step closer to me and putting her hands behind her back. She stares at me, squinting with her lips tightly puckered, then stops before she talks. “You must know this war will disrupt the vows you made to Ulrika.”
“How do you know about my vow?”
“We know everything about you,” she says, pointing her finger at my chest as she moves toward it. I take a step back to avoid being touched. “We know Ulrika wants daughters.”
“Rosalie and Joyce,” Stratus says before revealing everything Ulrika wants to do with the cabin in Thaa Alora once we start our family. “We want to make that happen, Kaioson. It’s our job to make things come true.”
“But we can’t if you ignore this war,” Sinara says after she morphs behind me. Her head is over my right shoulder. The heat from her cheek radiates as if I’m in direct sunlight. It is warm yet comfortable, like sitting in a sauna. “We want to see people happy with those who deserve it.” After saying that, she walks around to my front without breaking eye contact. “Do you want that, Kaioson?”
“I do,” I say. “I love her so much that I will try anything to fulfill my vows.”
My love for Ulrika is just as strong as ever. The images I see in my mind of us having a family are enough to bring tears.
“You are a wonderful man,” Stratus says. “Let those tears act as a constant reminder of your goals.”
“Gods.” My voice shakes from a sudden surge of fear of how Ulrika won’t take the unfortunate news. “How am I going to do this?”
“I could talk to her if you want.”
“That sounds,” I stop to think how Ulrika will take the news. She’ll probably blow up and get red in the face. Maybe divine words will be the better option. “Please, if you don’t mind.”
“Hold my hand.”
“Okay?” The warmth from her hand radiates just like Sinara’s face. Are they all hot like this? And why are they not sweating? Her hand is dry, yet oddly silky smooth.
“I’ll be right back.”
Stratus waves goodbye to her sisters. Once I wave goodbye, the void around me blips us back to the second-floor hallway. I’m a few feet from the bathroom. The door is cracked open. I can hear Ulrika singing and water slashing around. I let go of Stratus’s hand to walk into the room. Ulrika is topless, but she is wearing underwear.
“Ulrika,” I say, jogging over to the tub.
“There you are,” Ulrika says, turning around to see me. “Can you warm this up?” The water crystal within the tub has almost spent all of its magic, filling the tub. She sticks her hand in the water while I warm the water to the temperature she wants. “Right there.” Her hand quickly comes out of the water. “Hey.” She flicks some of the water in my face to get my attention. “I looked all over the house for you. Where did you go?” Stratus makes herself known by clearing her throat.
“Forgive me,” Stratus says with her head peaking around the door. “I had to talk with him.”
“Kaio?” Ulrika says calmly. “Who is she?”
“My name is Stratus, ma’am,” she says, then takes one step in the room. “I am an angel.” Ulrika tilts her head with her eyes squinted. Then, she stares at me for a long moment.
“It’s the truth,” I say. “I was contacted.” Stratus shines like a bright flame, nearly blinding me with a white light.
“Do you see me now?” Stratus giggles. Ulrika covers her breasts with her arms and drops to her knees.
“Forgive me for being so blind, your Holiness,” Ulrika says, panicking. “And forgive me for my nakedness. I was waiting to bathe with my husband.”
“All is good, Ulrika,” she says, trying to hold in her laughter. I can’t help but chuckle a bit at Ulrika’s acting. It’s out of character, but I know she’s not faking it. “I need to speak with you.”
“Oh? Me?” She stands to her feet with one arm crossed to hide her breasts and pulls me close to whisper in my ear. “Am I in trouble?”
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “We need to have a serious talk.”
“Okay? What about?”
Ulrika doesn’t take going back into fighting well at all. For three hours, Stratus tries to appeal to every emotional position to convince Ulrika to join in fighting the war against Zadione. Ulrika believes in what I initially wanted for us to have. Life within the comfort of our impenetrable kingdom. The more she defends her wishes, the more I feel bad about myself. Her cries for a future life with me are what I hope to accomplish, but she doesn’t see the point in continuing to fight.
Stratus takes me out of sight and earshot of Ulrika to talk with me in private in the hallway. I relocate us to the stairwell to be more private.
“Kaioson,” Stratus sighs and shakes her head in disappointment. “Ulrika isn’t going to budge.”
“Could the others help?” I say. She opens her mouth as if she’s going to say something, then closes it to ponder for a brief time.
“Maybe...” Before she begins to speak, I feel a breeze flow in my face. It is strong enough to make her move forward. “Where is that coming from?” My immediate answer is to check on the front door. It’s closed, including the windows. “Hold on,” she says with her finger on her lips before tickling the air. Something white, like wisping fog, goes around her fingers. The trail leads up the steps and down the hallway.
“What is that?”
“It’s... the air?. It’s being manipulated by magic.” She heads up to the top of the steps to look down the hallway. “There’s a door open at the end of the hallway.”
“Ulrika, this is private,” I say. The airflow suddenly stops and then flows. “Ulrika...”
“Go ahead and talk,” Ulrika says. Her voice whispers in echoes.
“Kaioson,” Stratus says in my head. “I’ll try and see if my sisters can convince your wife.”
“And if that doesn’t work?” I say in my head.
“You’ll see me at the end of the week.”
Stratus vanishes into smoke from her head down to her feet. The warm smoke flows around me, heading down the steps. It vanishes before it reaches the last step. I head straight to my room, where Ulrika is. Her magic continues flowing until I stand in the doorway of our room. She quickly puts her hands into her lap, leaving her thumbs crossed over her crotch.
“Oh,” Ulrika says, then glances past me. “Where is she?”
“Gone,” I say and close the door behind me.
“Good!”
“Good?”
“Gods,” she says, muffling her voice through her teeth. “I thought you said you were done with this!” She screams. “Why?! Why do you want to go through this again?!” She’s red in the face. The veins in her forehead are showing. “I thought we had settled to live here?!”
“We did... but—”
“Don’t but me, Kaioson!”
I receive a stern warning to keep my mouth shut while she rants to me again about why what I’m doing is wrong. To her, I am double-minded. She’s set in her ways, and I don’t think I’ll succeed in changing her mind. I might have to set off on my own to fight the evils of that demonic, ungodly cult. She’ll hate me dearly if it comes to it. All I can do is hope she’ll see that her husband is keeping his vows and actively making them come true.
For six days, Stratus’s sisters talk with Ulrika. Every other day, Ulrika comes yelling at me about how annoying they are and wishes they would leave her alone. I keep my comments to a minimum to prevent her from being more pissed off. On the seventh day, Ulrika and I head home after eating out. I see all the sisters standing at the front door of the house. They don’t look happy at all. Stratus has her arms behind her back while the rest of the sisters have their arms crossed over their chests.
“By the gods!” Ulrika says. “I’m getting the watchmen!”
“Hey,” I say, grabbing her by the arm before she can walk off. “There’s no need for that, my love.”
“He’s correct,” Stratus says. “We’re only here for Kaioson.”
“You’ve made your point. We accept that you won’t get involved,” Sinra says.
“What do you want with him, now?” Ulrika says, clutching me close to her. I try to nudge her off. She retaliates by holding me tighter.
“Rhyndac wants him to accompany her for a mission,” Anasha says.
“What?” Ulrika and I say together.
“She wants you,” she points at me before pointing towards her left. “At Khasar. She’ll disclose the details once she sees you.”
“Khasar? Where’s that?” Ulrika says to me. I tell her it’s a city near the western wall. “Is it far away?” She says, looking at everyone. I’m unsure how far that place is. I have never gone that far east.
“It’s a day and a half ride,” Stratus answers for us. “I can take you to Rhyndac’s home through a portal. She’s expecting you today.”
“Today?” Ulrika says, cracking her voice. “You’re not leaving today... right?”
“I am,” I say. Anasha snaps her fingers twice and turns my plain clothes into my bounty-hunting gear. Sinra flashes in and out of existence faster than I can blink. In both of her hands, she holds my sword and dagger. She fastens my dagger and sword on my body, then adjusts my protective collar.
Ulrika watches Anasha check every part of my protective pieces as if she’s seeing something horrible. She’s frowning with her mouth somewhat open, and her brows are pressed upward. The more Anasha continues checking my stuff, Ulrika’s judgmental gaze slowly gets worse. She looks at me, shaking her head in disgust. One single eye roll is enough to make me snap.
“Stop giving me that look,” I say when I look away out of fear of looking Ulrika in the eyes.
“So,” Ulrika scoffs. “You’re just going to leave me to fight, huh?” Anasha abruptly stops what she’s doing. Her fingers quickly retract into her hands, and she takes one giant step back to allow Ulrika to stand between us. “Look at me, Kaioson,” she whispers in aggression. The second I do, she pulls me closer by the straps of my pants. She stares at me without blinking for an uncomfortable moment before speaking again. “There is so much on my mind right now that I’m speechless.” I stay silent in hopes she’ll find the words. Plus, I’m scared that if I do, she’ll yell. “Do you love me?” She asks calmly, then says it again, but softer. “Do you love me?” I nod to say I do. “Let me hear you say it.”
“I love you, Ulrika.”
“Why do I feel like you don’t?”
“Don’t mistake my decision as an act of unfaithfulness.”
“Don’t go back into this stupid war.”
“My mind is set.”
“Please!” She holds me tight, pressing me into her body. “Stay. Let’s start a family.”
“Ulrika...”
“Kaioson...” She lets me go, steps back, and holds her stomach by crossing her arms. My heart sinks into my stomach. The sensation in my lips begins to tingle as my heart rate increases. “Let’s do it... Right now...” Something within me finds her offering to make love now arousing, yet it pisses me off.
“We can’t.”
“Kaioson!”
“I got to go.” I only get to walk three steps before she jumps in front of me.
“Wait!” She puts her hands on my chest, adding more resistance.
“Ulrika, I must.”
“No, you don’t,” she weeps. “Others can fight for us!” She yells, then softens her voice to speak privately in my ear. “Just, take me to your bed. Let’s not delay this moment anymore.”
“Enough,” I say, trying to push her out of my way gently. She can’t force me to stay put. Her strength is almost enough to make me struggle to take a single step. “Move out of my way.”
“Kaioson, stop!” She screams. Her voice echoes through the neighborhood. I stop dead in my tracks and watch her quietly weep with her head down on my chest. Her tears soak through my shirt. “I’ll come. I’ll come...” I sigh, aggressively rubbing my brows.
“You said you were done fighting.”
“I am.”
“Then why did you say that?”
“Because,” she says, lifting her head. She blinks once, sending the remaining tears down her face. “I can’t live without you,” she says, then clears her eyes with her hands.
“Don’t be silly,” I chuckle. “You’ll live on.”
“I’m serious.” She’s not smiling. “If I lost you... What’s the point of living?” Not one word is a stutter. Her voice is calm and precise. “You’re everything to me, and it saddens me you’re doing this again.”
“But—”
“But you’re doing it for us,” she says, almost taking the words out of my mouth.
“I was going to say I was doing it for you.” She smirks but only for a second.
“No, you’re not.”
“But I am,” I say, softening my voice while I hold her close to my body. Her arms crossed in front of her chest. Even though she’s not holding me, she’s snuggling her face against my chest. We stay like this for a minute without saying a word before she decides to move away.
“I’m going to pack my things.”
“I can instantly give it to you, Ulrika,” Stratus says.
“Don’t you dare!” She says, firmly pointing at Stratus and the rest of them. “I don’t need your help.” When she walks past them to enter the house, Sinra opens her mouth to say something, but Ulrika tells her to shut her mouth. I bite the corner of my lip and cross my arms tight over my chest to prevent myself from reacting in any sort of way.
“Well,” Stratus says as she skips over to me. “I wasn’t expecting that. I truly thought she wasn’t going to go.”
“She’s,” I pause to laugh at how clingy and supportive Ulrika is to me. “Never mind.”
After some time passes, Ulrika comes out all geared up. Sinra attempts to say something before Ulrika passes her. Ulrika shuts her up again by facing her palm at her and turning her head away. It worries me to see her shun angels away and show signs of mild hostility towards them. I feel like I’m on the precipice of witnessing an explosive outburst if one of them tries to talk to her.
“Come here,” I say with a gentle yet stern tone, with my hands out for Ulrika to grab. She refuses to hold them in the cutest way possible. She puts them on her cheeks and momentarily pushes them to pucker lips. After that, I smooches my right palm. “Are you sure about this? Don’t come if you don’t want to.”
“I’m not going to sit in that house worrying sick while you risk your life alone out there,” Ulrika says, mildly yelling at me.
“Alone? I’ll be with Rhyndac.”
“I can’t in good faith let Rhyndac be your partner,” she says before showing her disgust by gagging twice. “Hayden is a better candidate.”
“Hayden?” I laugh out loud in one breath. “That cocky man would be the death of me.”
“He’s cocky, but,” she stops to flick my nose and poke it. “Also skillful.”
“Seriously?”
“Mhmm!” She smiles with her lips curled in her mouth. I’m stumped on why she thinks that. Hayden is a fool, but knowing her investigative insight into people, she might know something I have yet to see about him.
“Okay,” I say to submit to her intuition. “So... Are you ready to go?”
“Take us to Rhyndac,” she says to the sisters.
“Good luck, you two,” Anasha says, waving goodbye.
“A thousand blessings for your success,” Sinara says.
Stratus opens a portal in front of a house behind Ulrika. Ulrika wastes no time stepping through. Before I can get the tip of my toe in, Stratus suddenly appears to my left, holding my forearm. She stands on her toes to whisper in my ear a promise that if Ulrika and I are in a dire situation, we will not perish. When I ask her why, she answers by saying, “Blame Coretha for making us adore you. And it’s our job to award blessings.”
“I don’t know what to say,” I say, feeling immense gratitude for having so much divine help throughout my life. I’m lucky to have their sights on me, but I’m worried about them falling into the same fate as Coretha. If they lose their powers, then who will save me or Ulrika?
“First,” Stratus says, lightly pressing her knuckles on the left side of my cheek. “You can stop looking at me with so much worry.”
“Forgive me. I fear you and your sisters about helping us.”
“Don’t worry about us or what we will do,” she waves like she’s wafting the air. “Focus on trying to defeat Zadione.” She guides me through the portal and shows me three bluish-white glowing fingers. “We’ll be watching.” The portal closes as fast as someone can clap their hands, creating a muffled thunderous bang.
“That’s going to wake up the neighborhood.”
“Speak of the devil,” Ulrika says. I look at her, thinking I’m being called out, but she’s looking at Rhyndac in the doorway.
